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Introducing `oclif init` command

· 2 min read

Thanks to the contribution of @joshcanhelp we released a new command for the oclif CLI called oclif init in version 4.8.0

The oclif init command allows you to initialize oclif in an existing project directory by adding the bare minimum requirements: a few pieces of configuration, bin scripts, and a couple of dependencies (@oclif/core and ts-node). This is slightly different from oclif generate, which will create an entirely new oclif project based on our templates.

oclif init will add the following:

  • bin scripts: bin/run.js, bin/run.cmd, bin/dev.js, and bin/dev.cmd
  • oclif section to package.json with bin, dirname, commands, and topicSeparator set (See Configuring Your CLI for more)
  • @oclif/core to dependencies in your package.json (if it's not already there)
  • ts-node to devDependencies in your package.json (if it's not already there)

Once you've initialized oclif, you can use the bin scripts to execute your CLI. You can also use the other oclif commands like oclif generate command and oclif generate hook to start adding new functionality.

oclif init demo

❯ oclif init --help
Initialize a new oclif CLI

USAGE
  $ oclif init [--bin <value>] [--module-type ESM|CommonJS] [--package-manager npm|yarn|pnpm] [--topic-separator
    colons|spaces] [-d <value>] [-y]

FLAGS
  -d, --output-dir=<value>        Directory to initialize the CLI in.
  -y, --yes                       Use defaults for all prompts. Individual flags will override defaults.
      --bin=<value>               Supply answer for prompt: Command bin name the CLI will export
      --module-type=<option>      Supply answer for prompt: Select a module type
                                  <options: ESM|CommonJS>
      --package-manager=<option>  Supply answer for prompt: Select a package manager
                                  <options: npm|yarn|pnpm>
      --topic-separator=<option>  Supply answer for prompt: Select a topic separator
                                  <options: colons|spaces>

DESCRIPTION
  Initialize a new oclif CLI

  This will add the necessary oclif bin files, add oclif config to package.json, and install @oclif/core and ts-node.

EXAMPLES
  Initialize a new CLI in the current directory

    $ oclif init

  Initialize a new CLI in a different directory

    $ oclif init --output-dir "/path/to/existing/project"

  Supply answers for specific prompts

    $ oclif init --topic-separator colons --bin mycli

Hope you enjoy the new command! If you come across any issues or have any new ideas for this command, head over to the oclif/oclif repo and open a new issue.

All our best,

The oclif team